Inter-Actions

This book is an exploration of the linguistic, structural, historical, and thematic relationships of religion and drama. It is not an attempt to sacralize drama so that it becomes a substitute for religion, nor will it reduce religion to its aesthetic dimension. What does religion tell us about drama, and what does drama tell us about religion? What have been their inter-actions in our tradition? The conversation between religion and culture, drama and Christianity, needs to be ongoing. This book is a contribution to the dialogue, asking questions, pointing towards possible answers, and encouraging others to join in the conversation.

Nelvin Vos' insightful study of the interrelationship of theater and religion, drama and worship, shows a deep appreciation for the ways that both depend on a holy and living presence...Theologians no less than theatre historians will appreciate this well-crafted consideration of how this powerful artistic medium has the ability to reveal mysteries, tell truths, and transform hearts., In spite of the extensive cross-fertilization between religion and theater throughout history, and in spite of their common origins in the human attempt to "see" and enact the transcendent, the many connections between religion and theater are seldom well articulated. That is partly because both have become so manifold in practice that it is hard to see their underlying relationships clearly. Nelvin Vos is a good guide for those seeking clarity in this confusing landscape. He walks the reader through it with skill and insight. Along the way he makes his chosen pieces of theater come vividly alive as we read., Dr. Nelvin Vos has provided the present moment with an important and provocative book! Its special value lies in its particular timeliness. Just when religion seems to be defining itself by dogmatism, ideology and doctrinaire literalism, Dr. Vos has demonstrated compellingly that the genius of religion lies in its dramatic and aesthetic qualities, qualities that are characterized by playfulness., In this remarkable book, Nelvin Vos revisits in the many forms of the Western theatre its close continuing relationship with the sacred, the sacramental and the religious. Close readings of plays from Greek tragedy to Peter Shaffer and Tony Kushner offer us a panorama of the stage upon which we too are merely players, but also and at the same time awestruck witnesses of the cosmic drama of the gods and God.

Nelvin Vos, emeritus professor of English at Muhlenberg College, is the author of of the Drama of Comedy and The Great Pendulum of Becoming: Images in Modern Drama. He has served as executive director of the Society for the Arts, Religion and Contemporary Culture since 1999.